College Football: Top 5 Coaches on the Hot Seat in 2015

College football is a tough sport when it comes to coaches who are attempting to work their way off the hot seat. Once your seat starts to warm up, you generally stay there until you have a breakthrough season or find yourself looking for a new job.

The upcoming season is no different, and quite a few names will be coaching for their jobs. In a day and age where college football programs seem to demand immediate success from new head coaches, the turnover rate can be high. 

This reason alone is why we believe Willie Taggart of the South Florida Bulls and Darrell Hazell of the Purdue Boilermakers may be searching for jobs after the 2015 season.

Now, as we get into the top five coaches who find themselves painfully in need of a successful campaign this coming season, the following items factored into the rankings:

• Failure to take a program to the next level over multiple years.
• Below-average records on a consistent basis (factoring in the university standards as well).
• Inability to get over the hump in terms of conference record.
• Coaches who were on the hot seat in 2014 and did little to improve their standing heading into 2015.

Honorable Mentions

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Larry Fedora, North Carolina Tar Heels

If you want to talk about a head coach trending in the wrong direction, look no further than Fedora. It looked like the Tar Heels were off to a nice start under Fedora, going 8-4 in his first season. The next two seasons were just steps in the wrong direction, though, as UNC went 7-6 in 2013 and 6-7 last season.

The Tar Heels were projected to be a competitor for the ACC Coastal crown in 2014, but they were incredibly inconsistent all season. The prime example of the inconsistencies was their consecutive victories over Pittsburgh and Duke, followed up by brutal losses to their biggest rival in N.C. State and then a loss in the Quick Lane Bowl to Rutgers. 

Fedora has brought in Gene Chizik to help out the struggling defense, which allowed 39 points per game in 2014 and ranked 119th overall in the nation.

Todd Monken, Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles

The Golden Eagles managed one win in 2013 and three wins in 2014; the team has a 4-20 record under Monken. Considering that when Larry Fedora left the school in 2011, Southern Mississippi was 11-2 in his final season, it’s been quite the fall from grace.

What may be even more concerning is the fact that Southern Miss ranked 117th in the nation in points per game at 19 and 111th in points allowed per game at 35.4. Monken and the Golden Eagles must improve in 2015, or else a change could be on the horizon.

Darrell Hazell, Purdue Boilermakers

Hazell was named the head coach of Purdue in 2013 after the team made it to bowl games in two consecutive seasons. His job? Take the team to even greater heights. The outcome? A 1-15 conference record in two seasons and a 4-20 overall record during that span.

Frustrations are mounting when it comes to Hazell, and very few would be surprised to see a coaching change in West Lafayette.

Kirk Ferentz, Iowa Hawkeyes

Ferentz has led Iowa to mediocrity over the years. Throughout his tenure as head coach, he’s gone 73-54, but the team has not won a bowl game or been ranked in the AP Top 25 since 2010.

He hasn’t struggled in the way that many of the other coaches on this list have, but he’s still sitting squarely on the hot seat.

5. Kevin Wilson, Indiana Hoosiers

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Let me start by clarifying that Indiana was 4-8 last season and had an incredibly talented running back in Tevin Coleman leading the way. Coleman was a first-team All-American, but unfortunately he won’t be returning for his senior season.

The Hoosiers aren’t known as a football school, not by a long shot, but their 6-26 record in the Big Ten, and 14-34 record under Wilson, is a cause for concern.

Looking Towards 2015

Indiana doesn’t have anything close to resembling a tough schedule in 2015, as its nonconference schedule includes games against Southern Illinois, Western Kentucky, Florida International and Wake Forest.

If Wilson can’t get the Hoosiers at least somewhere near bowl eligible, then that may be the end of his time in Indiana. Based on the numbers, if this was a huge football school, Wilson would be much higher on the list. Indiana is working on becoming relevant in football, but Wilson is dealing with an uphill battle.

4. Willie Taggart, South Florida Bulls

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Taggart is entering his third year with the Bulls, and changes have been made in the coaching staff all around him heading into the 2015 season. Could Taggart be the next man to go if he has a mediocre year? Absolutely.

Under his leadership, South Florida has gone just 6-18 overall with a 5-11 record in the American Conference. While Taggart had a tough start to his career with South Florida, as the team went 2-10 in 2013, it did manage to improve to 4-8 in 2014.

Bowl Game or Bust?

With that said, if he can’t get the Bulls into a bowl game next year, then that will likely be all she wrote.

Taggart gets a bit of bump down the list due to the fact that he’s only coached two seasons and his team has shown improvement over the time. Coaching can be a cruel job at times though, so a small improvement in 2015 may not be enough for him to keep his job.

3. Mike London, Virginia Cavaliers

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It seems that the ACC’s Coastal Division has its fair share of coaches who are going to find themselves on the hot seat, and one prime example is unfortunately London. His seat is hotter than the likes of Fedora and others on this list, largely due to the fact that aside from one season, he's struggled mightily.

Recent Struggles Tell the Story for London

He’s had a very, well, weird tenure at Virginia. While his Cavaliers went 8-5 in 2011, they have essentially been terrible in his other four seasons. In those other four years, Virginia has gone 15-33 overall with a 6-26 record in ACC play.

The Cavaliers went 5-7 and just barely missed a bowl in 2014, but London will likely need to lead the Cavaliers back to a bowl game in 2015, or he’ll be looking for a new job.

2. Al Golden, Miami Hurricanes

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No coach in the ACC has a hotter seat than Golden. He didn’t take the top spot here due to the fact that he's had quite the uphill climb, and on top of that, his team showed plenty of life recently.

When Golden first got the job at Miami, it came with the understanding that there was plenty of work to do.

Not Living up to the Hurricane Way

His first three years weren't bad, as he went 22-15 overall, but now he's not living up to Hurricanes standards. A 6-7 record in 2014, when the team had such high expectations, was enough to frustrate the fanbase.

"The U" strives for greatness, not just bowl eligibility. In turn, the early benefit of the doubt from fans is almost completely gone at this point.

If Golden can’t get the team over the hump in 2015 and make it a serious contender for the ACC Coastal crown, then it’ll likely be a wrap on his tenure at Miami.

1. Tim Beckman, Illinois Fighting Illini

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Beckman takes the top spot on this list, largely due to the fact that he was nearly gone at the end of 2014. Illinois was 4-6 in November, and it seemed as though he was on his way out the door. The team won two straight from that point on though to become bowl-eligible.

Illini Need to Build on Late 2014 Run

The late-season surge for Illinois saved Beckman’s job, for the time being at least. Don't get me wrong: His seat remains incredibly hot, mainly due to his overall record of 12-25, paired with a Big Ten record of just 4-20 with the Illini.

With his contract set to expire in 2015, it’s going to be a do-or-die season for Beckman.